By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – If the Bristol Central boys basketball team showed any rust in its CCC Interdivisional contest against Enfield on Tuesday night after a week off, only a keen observer from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium would have picked up on it.
Because the Rams led wire-to-wire, eventually establishing a 40-point cushion before cruising to a 91-63 victory – the program’s 26th straight win in a row.
Central remains undefeated (11-0) while Enfield fell to 3-8, dropping its fourth straight contest.
The Rams built a 19-point lead going into the second period but two back-to-back 3s from the Eagles had Central coach Tim Barrette calling timeout as he attempted to get his team back in sync.
“I wasn’t too happy at halftime to be honest,” said Barrette. “I didn’t think we practiced very well yesterday and I thought it carried over to the first half. We threw some lackadaisical passes but that’s how we practiced yesterday. I told the guys at halftime that’s on me as a coach because I’ll be the first to take one, take it for those guys when we lose but then I have to be the person I need to be in practice and they’ve got to be better than that.”
“We came out in the second half with a new energy, pushed it out to forty real quick, almost doubled them up to start the third quarter and that was kind of my message at halftime.”
Central led by 23 at intermission which later ballooned to 71-31 with 2:38 remaining in the third as the home team started to pile it on.
Donovan Clingan continued his path of destruction with another triple-double, squaring off 25 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 blocks.
Clingan collected his triple-double before the end of the first half while surpassing 1,700 points for his career (1,702).
Damion Glasper scored 10 of his 18 points over first quarter play while Steve Alseph splashed in 13 points and once again directed traffic on the floor with near precision.
“People don’t realize that Steve Alseph can score the basketball more than people know,” said Barrette. “He just enjoys making a good pass more than scoring itself and you always need one of those [players] around. We’re blessed to have him I can tell you that.”
Carson Rivoira and Victor Rosa each scooped in six points, Jayeson VanBeveren scored five – adding his second three-pointer of the year – while Tre Blair, Mason Stokes, and Jelani Walton all netted four points to lead the offensive charge as the 91 points were the most ever scored by Central in the Donovan Clingan era.
Enfield’s Isaiah Plummer and Tighe Thebodeau each hit for 11 as the Eagles scored the most points any team has against the Rams this season which still resulted in a 28-point loss.
But a big 3 here and a trifecta there kept the visitors hanging around despite never leading.
“Enfield shot the ball really well tonight,” said Barrette. “They made [nine] threes and shot the ball great tonight.”
Central notched the first seven points of the showdown and when Glasper canned two charity tosses and then found Alseph for a 3, the home team led 15-2 with 1:47 left in the first frame.
The Rams ended the tilt with a long 3-bomb by VanBeveren, making it a 25-6 game through eight minutes.
After Enfield hit those early second period threes, the visitors got within 15 before a 10-0 run – including nine straight points by Clingan which was capped off when he beat everyone up court for a dunk, plus a foul – made it 37-12 with 5:17 left before the half.
An Alseph lay-up with 3:00 remaining in the second saw Central push in front by 29 but Enfield ended the half with a 7-2 push as the Rams carried a 47-24 lead into the break
“We can get away with a lot of mistakes,” said Barrette. “I just think we have to be cleaner and be better than we were tonight in the first half. And we were still up by twenty-three at the half.”
Defense led to offense in the third quarter as Central came out smoking, cobbling together a nifty 24-7 jaunt and when VanBeveren found Clingan for a sweet alley-oop jam, the home team was up big at 71-31 with 2:12 left in the third.
“We got our hands on a lot of balls. Victor had a couple steals, got a couple outlets, rebounded the ball real well and got the ball out in motion,” said Barrette. “When we get out on the fastbreak, we’re a pretty dangerous team.”
Central led 75-42 through three periods and saw its bench nearly get the edge back to forty again.
Off an 8-0 burst, Walton hit a hoop, Blair added a basket and two free throws, and when Mike Allan dished the ball off to Stokes for a floater, the Rams zipped up an 87-48 cushion with 4:40 remaining.
To end the scoring, Allan added a leaner and Harry Ross had an offensive rebound putback as Central came away with a 91-63 win to remain undefeated on the campaign.
“I don’t think we did a great job defensively but it’s harder to lock in when you’re up 25 or 30 and we had some of those mental breakdowns,” said Barrette. “With that being said, we have one day at practice tomorrow. We’re going to be better at practice tomorrow, I can promise you that one way or another, and we’re back at it against Hartford Public on Thursday night.”
Bristol Central Boys Basketball – CCC Interdivisional Action
BRISTOL CENTRAL 91, ENFIELD 63
from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium, Bristol
Enfield (3-8) 6 18 18 21 – 63
Bristol Central (11-0) 25 22 28 16 – 91
ENFIELD (63): Kaden Birkett 4 0 8, Josiah Whaley 2 0 5, Fritz-Carly Andre 2 5 9, Isaiah Plummer 4 0 11, Joel Schmidt 1 0 3, Josiah Upson 0 1 1, Justin Paoletta 2 0 5, Alex Herron 4 0 8, Tighe Thebodeau 3 2 11, Jason Mahon 0 2 2. Totals: 22 10 63.
BRISTOL CENTRAL (91): Victor Rosa 3 0 6, Mike Allan 1 0 2, Damion Glasper 5 6 18, Tre Blair 1 2 4, Steven Alseph 5 2 13, Zach Vanasse 0 0 0, Mason Stokes 2 0 4, Carson Rivoira 2 2 6, Donovan Clingan 11 2 25, Julius Powell 1 0 2, Jayeson VanBeveren 2 0 5, Jelani Walton 2 0 4, Harry Ross 1 0 2, Jayson Dominguez 0 0 0, Jonmanuel Gomez 0 0 0. Totals: 36 14 91.
Three-point goals: Josiah Whaley (E), Isaiah Plummer (E) 3, Joel Schmidt (E), Justin Paoletta (E), Tighe Thebodeau (E) 3, Damion Glasper (BC) 2, Steven Alseph (BC), Jayeson VanBeveren (BC), Donovan Clingan (BC).
Records: Bristol Central 11-0 overall; Enfield 3-8
